Gulnara Samitova-Galkina

Gulnara Samitova-Galkina

Personal information
Born	(1978-07-09) 9 July 1978 Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan
Medal record Women's Athletics Representing  Russia Olympic Games 2008 Beijing 3000 m steeplechase World Indoor Championships 2004 Budapest 1500 m

Gulnara Iskanderovna Samitova-Galkina (Russian: Гульнара Искандеровна Самитова-Галкина, Tatar: Гөлнара Искәндәр кызы Самитова-Галкина) (born 9 July 1978 in Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan) is a Russian middle-distance runner. In July 2004 she ran 3000 metres steeplechase in a new world record of 9:01.59 minutes. Early that year she won a bronze medal over 1500 metres at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Gulnara Samitova-Galkina is of mixed Tatar and Russian origin. She is a two-time national champion in the women's 5000 metres.

Samitova claimed the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in the 3000m steeplechase, breaking her own world record in the final with a time of 8:58.81 min, becoming the first woman in history to run under 9 minutes for the steeplechase.

She won both the 800 and 1500 metres races at the Russian Team Championships in June 2009, clocking a personal best of 2:00.29 in the 800 m and a world leading time over 1500 m.^[1]

She missed the whole 2010 season, including the 2010 European Athletics Championships, after becoming pregnant and giving birth to her daughter Alina in June. She returned to training in the autumn of 2010.

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing  Russia
2003	World Championships	Paris, France	7th	5000 m
2004	World Indoor Championships	Budapest, Hungary	3rd	1500 m
	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	6th	5000 m
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	7th	3000 m s'chase
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	1st	3000 m s'chase
			12th	5000 m
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	1st	3000 m s'chase
2009	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	4th	3000 m s'chase
2012	Olympic Games	London, England	DNF	3000 m s'chase

Personal bests

• 800 metres - 2:00.29 min (2009)
• 1500 metres - 4:01.29 min (2004)
• Mile run - 4:20.23 min (2007)
• 3000 metres - 8:42.96 min (2008)
• 3000 metres steeplechase - 8:58.81 min WR (2008)
• 5000 metres - 14:33.13 min (2008)

References

External links

• Gulnara Samitova-Galkina profile at IAAF
• Focus on Athletes – in-depth article from IAAF